BOCA RATON | Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito recently blessed the new athletic field at Saint John Paul II Academy, capping the first phase of capital improvements to sports facilities on the Boca Raton campus.
Ed Bernot, who served as principal of the high school since 2016 before becoming president in May, said the new artificial turf field, which was completed in early September, is part of a capital campaign to boost athletic facilities. On Oct. 2, Bernot told the Florida Catholic that three home football games had been played on the field at that point, and he had received positive feedback.
“Nothing but high praises from both the coaches and the athletes as well as all of the alums who came back for homecoming. It was really a great, great weekend celebrating that,” he said.
With about $3.4 million raised toward the $4 million goal, the second phase of the project is moving forward, Bernot said. It includes an athletic fieldhouse that will house new locker rooms, a weight room, training room, coaching offices, classroom for team meetings and storage space for the athletic department. Also adjacent to the field will be a smaller building housing a concession area and restrooms.
“I’m learning a lot about construction and the way that all these things happen through this project,” he said. “We’re at the 50% architectural drawing phase, meaning we’re, probably as early as next week, going to be in the process of putting bids out to general contractors. Once the general contractor has been selected, we’ll be putting out the paperwork for the permits with the city of Boca Raton.”
If all goes as planned with permits and so forth, construction on the concessions building should start in early 2026, and the fieldhouse beginning in the summer months, Bernot said.
The school chose to convert a natural grass field to artificial turf because, with extensive use for football in the fall, then boys and girls soccer (varsity and junior varsity) and boys and girls lacrosse, the grass had little chance of rebound, especially with unpredictable weather.
“It is year-round use for all of those different sports,” he said. “It’s going to be great to have a field that’s safe for all of them, not worrying about ruts and things that are the product of the field not being able to recover from one season to the other.”
Another advantage of artificial grass is the improved drainage capabilities when dealing with Florida’s extended downpours, Bernot said.
“When they completed the field at the end of the first week of September, that’s when days and days of rain started. Literally the day after they finished, we had one of the hardest rains that we’d had all summer during construction. We went out to the field almost immediately to see if there were going to be puddles, but everything had drained very, very quickly. So far, it appears that all of the hard work that they did in preparing the base for the turf and for the drainage worked really well.”
The Soaring to New Heights capital campaign is the first in the 45-year history of Saint John Paul II Academy, Bernot said, and invitations to participate have been going out far and wide.
“Because it is such a historic thing for us, the conversations that we’re having with donors and members of our community all have to do with just wanting to be a part of this historic moment in our school’s history and contributing to that project, which is benefiting so much of our community,” he said.
Bernot added that improvements were made to the school’s gymnasium in summer 2024 without a large fundraising drive. The gym floor and bleachers were replaced, along with new exterior and interior paint, to enhance and improve the student experience on campus.
“Across all of these things, the common theme is really wanting to give the students a lot of pride in the facilities that they have at their disposal and that they get to be a part of,” he said. “I think anyone who’s spent any time on a high school campus knows when students have pride in their environment — and athletics are a big part of that — that really translates to the whole mood of the campus.”
With 80% to 85% of Saint John Paul II students involved in some form of athletic activity, Bernot said, the improvements will make an impact on many in the future toward the goal of educating mind, body and spirit.
“From an educational standpoint, we believe that all of these activities, whether it be in the classroom, on the field or any other aspect, they all contribute to the holistic development of these young people,” he said. “It’s great to be able to make these improvements and offer them to such a high percentage of our students.”
To learn more about Saint John Paul II Academy, visit www.sjpii.net or call 561-314-2100. Follow the school on Facebook and Instagram. Stay updated on the diocesan Office of Catholic Schools at www.diocesepbschools.org, or follow on Facebook and Instagram at @diocesepbschools.
